PRESENTATION ON

GEOLOGY AND SOIL MECHANICS

(INDEX PROPERTIES OF SOIL)

PREPARED BY:
SHUBHAM DIWAKAR
B.TECH SEM4
 SOIL
 Soil is the mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids,
and the countless organisms that together support life on
Earth. Soil is a natural body known as the pedosphere and
which performs four important functions: it is a medium for
plant growth; it is a means of water storage, supply and
purification; it is a modifier of Earth's atmosphere
Failure in structure due to soil
THREE PHASE SYSTEM
INDEX PROPERTIES
The various properties can be grouped into:
 Volume relations
 Weight relations
Volume relations
1. Void ratio (e) is the ratio of the volume of voids (V v) to the volume of soil
solids (Vs), and is expressed as a decimal
.

2. Porosity (n) is the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume of soil (V ),
and is expressed as a percentage. 

Void ratio and porosity are inter-related to each other as follows: 

 and 
3. The volume of water (Vw) in a soil can vary between zero (i.e. a dry soil) and
the volume of voids. This can be expressed as the degree of saturation (S) in
percentage. 

For a dry soil, S = 0%, and for a fully saturated soil, S = 100%.

4. Air content (ac) is the ratio of the volume of air (V a) to the volume of voids

5. Percentage air voids (na) is the ratio of the volume of air to the total volume
WEIGHT RELATIONS
1. The ratio of the mass of water present to the mass of solid particles is called
the water content (w), or sometimes the moisture content

2. The mass of solid particles is usually expressed in terms of their particle unit

weight   or specific gravity (Gs) of the soil grain solids 

3. Dry unit weight   is a measure of the amount of solid particles per unit
volume
4. Bulk unit weight   is a measure of the amount of solid particles plus water per unit
volume . 

5. Saturated unit weight  is equal to the bulk density when the total voids is filled up with
water. 
DETERMINATION OF SOIL
PROPERTIES
1.WATER CONTENT
:OVEN DRYING METHOD
: CALCIUM CARBIDE(CAC2)
DETERMINATION OF
CONSISTENCY LIMIT
1.LIQUID LIMIT BY CASEGRANDE TOOL
2. PLASTIC LIMIT
 PARTICAL SIZE ANALYSIS(SEIVE
ANALYSIS)
The procedure of determining the proportion of mineral particles in each of
these classes is called particle size analysis or mechanical analysis of the
soil

Seive sizes
4.75mm
2.36mm
1.18mm
600μ
300μ
150μ
75μ